Healthcare IT News For VARs — December 1, 2014
By Megan Williams, contributing writer
In this week’s news, Massachusetts makes a $3.3-million payment error, and CMS selects payers for end-to-end testing. Also, “EHR data integrity” debuts on the Health IT Hazards List, and a study shows EHR data analysis can have benefits for drug repurposing.
Incorrect EHR Incentive Payments Made By Massachusetts
Massachusetts’ Medicaid program has made incorrect EHR payments totaling $3.3 million to 19 different hospitals, according to HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG). The payment errors, comprised of both over- and underpayments, netted a total of $2.1 million in overpayments. The OIG found that the state was inconsistent in making incentive payment in accordance with state and federal requirements. The office has recommended that the Massachusetts agency refund a total of $2.1 million to the federal government, make adjustments to the 19 hospitals’ incentive payments, review supporting documentation and related calculations, and refund any other identified overpayments, according to HealthData Management.
CMS Selects Payers For End-To-End Testing
Eight Medicare payers have been selected for end-to-end testing of ICD-10, which is slated to occupy the week of January 26 to 30, 2015, according to Executive Insight. The testing will allow participating physician practices to address problem areas before the October 1, 2015 implementation deadline. Medicare payers selected for the testing include: Florida Medicare, Durable Medical Equipment Regional Carriers, Indiana Medicare, New Jersey Medicare, North Carolina Medicare, Ohio Medicare, Washington Medicare, and Railroad Medicare and DME.
EHR Data Integrity Makes Its Debut On Health IT Hazards List
The ECRI Institute, an organization dedicated to “bringing the discipline of applied scientific research to discover which medical procedures, devices, drugs, and processes are best” in relation to patient care, has released its 2015 Top 10 Health Technology Hazards list — a list that highlights 10 safety topics that the institute has deemed crucial for hospitals to address in the year. The list tops out with (1) alarm hazards, (2) data integrity, and (3) mix-up of IV lines. Cybersecurity came in at number 9. Read more insights into the list here.
Impact Of Healthcare Data Breaches Extend Well Beyond Point Of Discovery
This article from Health IT Security covers the ripple effect of healthcare data breaches in organizations, and the work that they frequently must do to regain stakeholder trust. It outlines the steps organizations must take after a breach, details the most common types of breaches, and covers the legal ramifications and regulatory requirements around a breach event. Most interestingly, it discusses the fact that legal ramifications frequently extend years after the actual breach.
EHR Data Analysis Could Reveal New Rx Benefits, Study Says
Researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center believe they may have found a new and efficient method for making more informative drug repurposing predictions using data from EHR. The study most specifically focuses around the theory that the use of metformin, a diabetes drug that is generally easily tolerated by patients, may be able to be used to treat some types of cancer. The study, appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, involved scanning 32,000 records of cancer patients seen since the mid 1990s. The study ultimately found that patients who had cancer, and were exposed to metformin, exhibited a 23 percent decrease in all-cause mortality, compared with non-diabetic patients who were not on the drug. Read more at HealthData Management.
Healthcare IT Talking Points
This article from ICD10 Watch examines the escalating exchange between ICD-10 implementation supporters and detractors. The Texas Medical association is rallying physicians to lobby Congress for a two-year delay, while the ICD-10 Coalition has written Congress themselves, encouraging them to keep the implementation on schedule. AHIMA has also weighed in, throwing more weight behind its #ICD10Matters campaign on social media.
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Healthcare IT Resource Center.